US2068605A - Take-up mechanism for knitting machines - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 19, 1937. R H. LAWSON ET AL TAKE-UP MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES s Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 19, 1931 fzvwzzvroRs. FOBERTHZAWJ01Y l ARTHW? A! LMl/TIER, 0 By Arry.

5 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENTOR ROBERTHLAWSOM flli'fl'lflfli/I[C"L0UT[15'1? By WM ATTy.

Filed Nov. 19, 19:51

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Jan. 19, 1937.

Jan. 19, 1937.

R. H. LAWSON El AL Filed Nov. 19, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTy "Jan. 19, 1937. R. H. LAWSON El AL TAKEJJP MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed NOV. 19, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 JNVENTORS [P0353 TH LA WJ'DM ARTHUR A1. CL 0 UTIER y 6%, ztzwwg A T Ty Jan. 19, R H, LAWSON ET AL TAKE-UP MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Nov. 19, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 F'IG.3. FICLZO.

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Patented Jan. 19, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TAKE-UP MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Massachusetts Application November 19, 1931, Serial No. 576,120

8 Claims.

This invention relates to a mechanism for knitting stockings or half hose or other fabric partly plain and partly rib, the invention more particularly relating to a. special form of fabric take-up mechanism for properly tensioning the rib wales and especially the heel and/or toe wales when rib fabric is knitted following the knitting of the heel and/0r toe.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation and partly in section showing the main take-up for the tubular portions of the fabric, and mechanism for controlling the auxiliary take-up for properly tensioning the rib wales knitted immediately following reciprocatory movements of the needle cylinder;

Fig. 2 is a view in elevation and in section showing a so-called grab take-up for tensioning the wales constituting the heel and/or toe pockets;

Fig. 3 is a detail view of the grab take-up mechanism;

Fig. 4 is a view complemental to Fig. 2 and showing means for controlling the movements of the grab take-up;

Fig. 5 is a view in elevation showing an end view of the gearing for controlling the main takeup rolls;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 5 but showing the other side of the drive for the take-up rolls, the pulley not being shown;

Fig. 7 is an elevational view in section showing driving connections between the needle cylinder and the take-up rolls; and

Figs. 8, 9, and 10 are more or less diagrammatic views showing how the main and auxiliary take-ups cooperate during knitting.

The machine indicated generally by the numeral I is provided with a needle cylinder 2 in association with which is a needle dial 3 wherein needles are adapted to be seated for cooperation with the cylinder needles, thereby to knit one and one or any other type of rib fabric, the dial and cylinder being connected by means, not shown and not a necessary part of the invention, to rotate in timed relation one with the other, the needle cylinder being provided with a bevelled ring gear 4 the teeth of which are adapted to be engaged by a driven .gear, not shown. Depending from the underside of the dial and formingpart thereof is a hub 5 one purpose of which will hereinafter appear. The ring gear 4 is rotatably supported in a recess provided in the circular base 6, the latter being stationary and serving as a bearing for the ring gear.

Depending from the underside of and attached to the said ring gear 4 (Fig. 7) is a bracket 1 from which extends laterally a shaft in the form of a screw 8, loosely mounted upon the shank of which screw is a bevel gear 9 which meshes with teeth carried by a supplemental ring gear In which is attached to and depends from the underside of the circular base 6. Fixed to the said bevel gear 9 is a grooved pulley II in the groove of which is a belt l2 which also engages in the groove of another pulley I3, which latter pulley is fastened to a shaft M at one end thereof, the other end of which shaft I4 is provided with a, worm 15 which meshes with a worm wheel l6. The shaft I4 is supported in bearings provided by a bracket I! which in turn rests upon and is connected to a cylindrical bracket or support 18. The rotary movements imparted to the Worm Wheel l6 by the worm l5 are communicated to the shaft l9 to which the worm wheel I6 is fixed. Fixed to the shaft I9 at one end thereof is a pinion 20 (Fig. 5) which meshes with an idler pinion 2| which in turn meshes with a gear 22 fast on a shaft 23. The gear 22 meshes with a gear 24 fast on a shaft 25, said gear 24 meshing with a gear 26 fast on the shaft 21 upon which is fixedly mounted a take-up roll 28. The shaft 23, to which is fixed the gear 22, 'is driven thereby and to the other end of the shaft 23 (Fig. 6) is fixed a gear 29 which meshes with and drives a gear 30 fast on the shaft 3| to which is fixed the companion take-up roll 32. The shafts 23, 25, 21, and 3| are mounted at one end in bearings provided by uprights 33 and a bracket 33, the said shafts at their other ends being mounted in bearings provided by uprights 34 and a bracket 34'. The respective uprights 33, 34 each consist of a pair of companion members which are yieldingly urged toward one another by means of a coil spring 35 (Fig. 5) which surrounds a headed pin 36 and which at its other end bears against the face of one of the rolls 33, 34 as the case may be. The pin or screw 36 passes through a hole in one companion member of uprights 33, 34 and into threaded engagement with the other companion member. The construction just described causes the rolls 28 and 32 yieldingly to engage the fabric between them, and the rolls being each positively driven, exert a tension upon the fabric and permit the dial needles properly to cast off their stitches.

Take-up rolls, etc. are supported from the underside of the ring gear 4 (Fig. 1) by means of depending bracket arms 31, 38 which are attached to and depend from the underside of the said ring gear and consequently rotate therewith thus causing the take-up rolls, etc. to rotate with the fabric during plain kniting but during rib knitting, i. e., immediately following the knitting ofheels or toes, it becomes necessary to' provide some auxiliary tensioning means for properly tensioning the wales on the heel and toe side of the fabric. With that purpose imyiew, the auxiliary take-up mechanism shown in detail I in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 is provided, said mechanism including the ring or partial ring 4|] which is adapted automatically to be moved to the position shown in Fig. 2 wherepins or points 4| (which points are carried by the ring 40 and which point inwardly and downwardly) pass through the portion of the fabric 42 included in the heel and toe pockets, the diametrically opposite portion of the ring causing the instep portion of the fabric to bunch up somewhat as shown at 43, the fabric 42 being caused partially to enclose the hub 5 of the dial, and being maintained more or less taut between the needles and the hub 5, whereby to facilitate initial engagement of the fabric by the points 4|. With the parts in the relative position shown in Fig. 2, continued rib knitting permits the ring '40 and connected parts gradually to drop and thereby tension the rib wales that are on the heel and toe side of the fabric, all in a manner hereinafter-to be described. The auxiliary take-up continues to hang suspended from the knitted fabric as the said takeup continues to move downwardly and away from the hub 5 of the dial cap, the continued movement being finally arrested by a pin 44 (which is attached to and projects laterally from a rod 45) engaging a coil spring 46 one end of which is fastened to a pin or screw 41 projecting laterally from and carried by a bracket 48 which is fastened to and depends from the ring gear 4. The spring 46 passes around rod 45 which is fastened to the ring 40 as by means of'screws 49, the other end of the said spring 46 being fastened to a pin or screw (not shown) similar to the pin 41 but on the other side of the bracket 48. The spring 46 by encircling the rod 45 causes the same to maintain a position somewhat adjacent to the inner wall of the needle cylinder and in a slot or recess 50 which is provided by bifurcating the outer end of a lug 5| which projects laterally from andis part of bracket 48. Furthermore, spring 46 maintains a cam 52, which forms part of the rod 45, in engagement with a pin 53 carried by the bracket'48. v

Following the knitting of heels and/ r toes and preceding rib knitting, it is desirable to raise the ring 40 and connected parts to the position shown in Fig. 2 and to accomplish such purpose a ring 54 is provided which surrounds the container 39. The container 39 is provided with a longitudinally disposed slot 55 from which projects laterally a lug 56 which lug is made fast to the rod 45 near the lower end thereof. The bracket l8 also is slotted as at 51 so that, as the rod 45 and cam 52 .descend, the said cam 52 may pass below the upper surface of the said bracket l8, the slot 51 being wide enough to accommodate the cam 52.

Furthermore, the container 39 is provided with a slot corresponding to and registering with the slot 51. In constant engagement with the lower face of the ring 54 (Fig. 1) is a two-armed lever 58, said lever being pivotally mounted at one end upon a pivot pin 59 which is fastened to the oil pan which is connected to the machine frame; and also pivoted upon said pin or shaft is a lever, one arm 60 of which is provided with a pin or screw 6| adjustably-engaging the outer face of the lever 58, while the other arm 62 of said lever is pivotally connected at its outer end to a link 63 which in turn is pivotally connected at its 7 other end to another link 64, the last named link being pivoted upon an arm 65 which is rigidly secured to-a frame portion of the machine at 66. A shaft 61, which is a continuation of the main cam shaft and makes one complete revolution during the knitting of each stocking or half hose,

has mounted thereon a ring 68, said ring 68 being provided adjacent to the periphery thereof with a pin 69, which when the drum upon which ring 68 is mounted moves in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1, engages a link 64 thereby causing the link'63 to rock the lever 62 and consequently raise the portions of the lever 58 in engagement with the lower face of the ring 54, thus raising the latter from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Fig. 4 and against the tension of a coil'spring 10, one end of which is attached to a pin 1| connected to the container 39 while the other end of such coil spring 10 is correspondingly fastened to a pin 12 projecting laterally from and carried by the cam 52 which is itself fastened to and forms part of the rod 45.

Movement of the rod 45 to the position shown in Figs. 2 and 4 causes the inclined face of. the cam 52 to engage the pin 53 and thereby move the rod 45 from a position adjacent to the inner face of the needle cylinder substantially at right angles to its direction of movement toward the hub and to the relatively inward position shown in Fig. 2 where the ring 48 is centered with respect to the hub 5 and so that the pins 4| will engage the fabric when rotation of shaft 61 causes pin 69 to move past link 64 and thus permit lever 58 and rod 45, under influence of the spring III, to drop.

The so-called grab take-up acts as an effective means for engaging the heel and/or toe portions of the fabric, especially in conjunction with the depending hub 5 of the dial, the latter tending to tension the fabric in a manner indicated in Fig. 2 so that the points 4| may readily penetrate the fabric. v

The cooperative action of the main and auxiliary take-ups is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in Figs. 8, 9, and 10. In Fig. 8 the auxiliary take-up is shown as just having engaged the heel and toe wales of the fabric (Fig. 2), the points 4| of such auxiliary take-up being positioned closely adjacent to the hub 5 of the needle dial 3, at which time the rib wales, then being knitted by the interspersed dial and cylinder needles, are being properly tensioned by .the points 4| of the auxiliary take-up. 'I'he 28 and 32 are exerting practically no tension on the heel and toe wales, the auxiliary take-up (due in part to the tension of the spring '10 and in part to the weight of the auxiliary take-up itself) alone tensioning the heel and toe wales at such time. As knitting continues the auxiliary take-up moves downwardly from the position shown in Fig. 8 and approaches the position shown in Fig. 9 at which time the coil spring Ill, which has contracted, exerts less retractile force on the auxiliary take-up which consequently exerts less tension on the heel and toe wales. The consequent decreasing tension on the heel and toe wales is compensated for by the constantly increasing tension which is exerted by the takeup rolls as the auxiliary take-up moves away from the position shown in Fig. 8. While it is true that the take-up rolls exert no direct tension on the heel and toe wales, i. e., at the knitting point, such rolls do indirectly exert tension on the heel and toe wales through the adjacent wales in a manner hereinbefore described with respect to the points ll of the auxiliary take-up,

namely, the take-up rolls exert direct tension on wales other than the heel and toe wales and, as

such wales exert a tension on the adjoining.

wales which in turn exert a tension on their adjoining wales, the tension directly exerted by the take-up rolls on the wales other than the heel and toe wales, is transmitted by such other wales to the heel and toe wales. The resultant action is such that the lines of force or pull exerted by the take-up rolls, cross the wales or curve, some of such lines of force or pull thus tensioning the heel and toe wales at the knitting point. It is evident, as the auxiliary take-up moves downwardly from the position shown in Fig. 8, that more curved lines of force or pull are exerted on the heel or toe wales, the tension or take-up action exerted by the take-up rolls thus increasing while the take-up pull or action exerted by the auxiliary take-up is gradually diminishing, the result being that a substantially uniform tension is maintained on all of the wales of the fabric including the heel and toe wales, the tension maintained on the heel and toe wales, i. e., wales knitted thereafter as continuations thereof or as substitutes therefor, being substantially uniform. Finally when the auxiliary take-up reaches the position indicated in Fig. 10, the tension exerted by the take-up rolls is sufficient properly to tension the heel and toe wales and consequently the auxiliary take-'up is released from its engagement with the heel or toe pocket as indicated in said Fig. 10.

As hereinbefore stated the arms 31, 38 pass through the bracket l8, the arms thereby serving to rotate the bracket l8 and can 39 as well as the take-up rolls mounted upon the bracket 18 during circular knitting and to reciprocate the parts during reciprocatory knitting. Furthermore, the arms 31, 38 serve to guide the take-up rolls and attached parts as they are raised or lowered by engagement of the rolls with the fabric. If the tension exerted by the rolls on the forming fabric is too great, the rolls tend to climb up the fabric, the rolls dropping with the fabric when the tension is relieved.

In the foregoing description, reference has been made to the fact that the grab take-up mechanism functions immediately following the knitting of a heel pocket or a toe pocket. When knitting from the toe to the top and when the leg portion is knitted wholly or partly of rib fabric, the grab take-up mechanism engages the knitted fabric, constituting the heel portion, during the knitting of rib courses after the knitting of the heel has been completed; whereas when knitting from top to toe and when the knitting of rib fabric follows the knitting of the toe, the grab take-up mechanism engages the fabric during the knitting of rib course's following the knitting of the toe.

We claim:

1. A circular knitting machine including a rotary needle cylinder anddial, in combination with auxiliary take-up means adapted to rotate in timed relation with the needle cylinder and dial, such auxiliary take-up means consisting of a ring having inwardly and downwardly extending points adapted to penetrate wales of a knitted fabric and thereby tension rib wales knitted following reciprocatory knitting, means for automatically controlling and timing the movements of the auxiliary take-up means in such a manner that the inwardly and downwardly extending points are, first, raised to a position to engage the knitted fabric immediately adjacent to the underside of the needle dial,

such auxiliary take-up means being adapted thereafter, and after engagement with the fabric has been effected, to act upon the knitted fabric and move away from the underside of the needle dial as knitting continues.

2. A circular knitting machine including a needle cylinder and a needle dial, in combination with take-up means for properly tensioning some of the rib wales of the knitted fabric, such means including a hub on the underside of the dial and a relatively movable member having fabric engaging elements, said member being adapted to cooperate with the hub on the dial by engaging and tensioning that portion of the fabric opposite the portion of the fabric to be engaged by the said fabric engaging elements, said movable member, after engagement of the fabric by the said fabric engaging means, maintaining the said fabric under the desired ten- SlOIl.

3. In a knitting machine having plain and rib needles and adapted to knit stockings having heel and toe pockets, means for tensioning fabric and auxiliary take-up means for tensioning a portion of the fabric following the knitting of a pocket, said auxiliary means adapted to engage that portion of the fabric and tension the wales pertaining thereto sufliciently to permit the continuance of knitting, said auxiliary takeup means including means acting in conjunction and movable with the said auxiliary tensioning means for encircling and holding the pockets sufliciently taut to permit ready engagement of the said pocket or fabric adjacent thereto by the auxiliary tensioning means.

4. In a knitting machine having plain and rib needles and adapted to knit stockings having heel and toe pockets, means for tensioning fabric and auxiliary take-up means for tensioning a portion of the fabric following the knitting of a pocket, said auxiliary means adapted to engage that portion of the fabric and tension the wales pertaining thereto sufliciently to permit the continuance of knitting, said auxiliary take-up means including means acting in conjunction and movable with the auxiliary tensioning means for encircling and holding the pockets sufficiently taut to permit ready engagement of the said pocket or fabric adjacent thereto by the auxiliary I and means for holding the pocket taut being connected and movable together as a unit.

5. In a knitting machine having a needle cylinder and a needle dial, the under-side of the dialhaving 9. depending hub, in combination with means for holding the fabric taut adjacent to the underside of the dial, said means including a ring 01 a size to pass around the dial hub and maintain the fabric sufflcientlytaut to be readily engaged by take-up means.

6. In a knitting machine having a needle cylinder and a needledial, the-under-side of the dial having a depending hub, in combination with means including a ring cooperating with the hub for holding the fabric taut adjacent to the under-side of the dial and thereafter tensioning the fabric.

7. For use in a knitting machine having a needle cylinder and needle dial, said dial having a downwardly projecting portion, a takeup member including a rod to one end or which is connected a ring, said ring being constructed and arranged to cooperate with the said downwardly projecting portion, fabric engaging means projecting inwardly from the ring and adapted readily to engage fabric when the same is properly tensioned by the ring.

8. A knitting machine having two banks of needles adapted to knit rib fabric, one bank of needles being adapted to knit plain wales and the other bank oi! needles being adapted to knit rib wales, means for supporting the needles that knit the rib wales said means provided with a depending portion, in combination with take-up means having a portion for encircling the said depending portion, the said take-up means being constructed and arranged to engage the fabric and properly tension the same during the knitting of rib fabric and following the knitting of plain fabric on some only oi! the needles, a stationary support through which the takeup means is guided in its movements to and from the mentioned depending portion, cooperating formations mounted on the take-up means and stationary means for causing the said take-up means asit moves in the direction of the depending portion to be properly centered with respect thereto.

ROBERT H. LAWSON. ARTHUR N. CLOUTIER.

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